Daily Dose of Hope

December 26, 2025

Scripture – Acts 25

Prayer: Heavenly Father, you are almighty and all-powerful. You are God of all and yet you care for us. Thank you, Lord. Help us settle our scattered thoughts and be silent before you...Thank you, Jesus. Please guide us as we reflect on your Word today. Meet us in the midst of our reading and this devotional. In Your Name, Amen.

Welcome back to the Daily Dose of Hope, the devotional and podcast that complements the New Hope Church daily Bible reading plan. I hope you had a great Christmas day yesterday! We have been on a wonderful journey of reading and reflecting on Scripture over the last eight months, specifically the four Gospels and the book of Acts. After today, we only have three more days in Acts. We will take a brief break and then we will begin again on January 5, 2026, to walk through the letters of Paul in chronological order. I hope you will join us for that as well.

Today, we are working through Acts 25. Paul's on-going custody and trial continues in this chapter. Felix was recalled to Rome to handle some other events. The man who followed him died after just two years and now we find ourselves introduced to the new governor, Festus. So this means that Paul has been in custody for over two years!

Festus quickly demonstrates that, while he will listen to the Jewish leaders' accusations against Paul, he will not be bullied by them. He appears to want to give Paul a fair hearing once again. Now, the Jews were accusing Paul of both religious and civil offenses. Even if he were not innocent, this raises red flags among the Roman authorities. So Paul uses last card, an appeal to Caesar himself, which was his right to do as a Roman citizen. This also means the Gospel message will now move further up the government ladder. God is at work here. Think of all the people along this journey that are being exposed to the Gospel message – people at every level of government and society.

I do want to point out Paul's faith here. He is unwavering. He knows what going back to Jerusalem would mean and he stands firmly against it. While we don't have specific Scripture to demonstrate this, we can assume that Paul feels God leading him to go to Caesar. Paul didn't do anything without the guidance of the Holy Spirit. We can safely assume that he is praying, listening, and obeying. AND trusting!

What do you learn from Paul's example here? If you were being accused of an injustice, how would you handle the situation?

Blessings,

Pastor Vicki